Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 4: Air
by twinemma26
Summary: It's been a year since the war has ended and the Gaang have split up to endure their own missions. Aang and Katara have left for the Air Temples to try and find the missing Air Nomads. Will they find them? Or will their mission be a big waste of time?
1. Sweet Dreams

Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 4: Air

DISCLAMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I wish I did though…

Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years have passed and the long-lost Avatar, an Airbender named Aang, defeated the Fire Nation. He has saved the world with the help of his friends and companions; Katara, a Waterbender and her warrior brother Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe, Toph, an Earthbender from the Earth Kingdom and Zuko, the new Fire Lord. His other companions include a Sky Bison named Appa and a Flying Lemur named Momo. A year has passed and the group have split up to endure their own quests and missions…

* * *

'_T__hank goodness the war is over' thought Aang as he played with Momo inside the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh's teashop in Ba Sing Se. He had spent months and months travelling, learning and training trying to get himself ready to face Fire Lord Ozai and just a couple of weeks earlier, had defeated Ozai by taking away his Firebending which had made him helpless and exhausted. _

_Now he was in a world of peace once again, with his friends; Katara, whom he had a massive crush on since the day they met, Sokka, Katara's warrior brother and his Kyoshi warrior girlfriend Suki__, Toph, the blind Earthbending master who taught him Earthbending, Zuko, the brand new Fire Lord and his girlfriend Mai. There were also Iroh, Zuko's uncle who was the best tea maker in the whole of Ba Sing Se and there were his two animal companions; Appa, his giant flying bison who had six legs and a huge arrow on his head and back and Momo, his flying lemur, who he had found at the Southern Air Temple. _

"_Zuko stop moving! I'm trying to capture the moment. I want to do a painting, so we wouldn't forget the good times together" Aang heard Sokka yell suddenly. He was painting a picture of the group, but Aang knew otherwise that the painting wouldn't be that good. _

"_T__hat's very thoughtful of you Sokka. Wait, why did you give me Momo's ears?" Aang saw Katara looking over Sokka's shoulder and pointing to something on a piece of parchment._

"_T__hey're your hair loopies!" replied Sokka as Zuko, Mai, Suki and Iroh went over to see how Sokka had drawn them. Aang got up and walked outside to look at the sunset as Toph made everyone laugh with one of her jokes about her blindness. _

'_The sunset is so calming' thought Aang to himself; 'it's beautiful… like Katara'. As if just been called, Katara came up behind Aang to look at the sunset with him. They at first just looked at each other, then Katara leaned in with her arms outstretched for a hug. Aang accepted the hug happily, for every time he was near Katara, his heart skipped a beat and his stomach filled with nerves. They soon leaned out of the hug and Aang looked at the sunset once again. Aang soon noticed that Katara hadn't stopped staring at him. He turned to her, and she started leaning towards him and they kissed. Aang's heart was beating so fast that he could feel it in his ears. He was so happy, he'd been waiting for this ever since she found him in an iceberg a year ago. He loved her so much. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck – _

"Wake up Aang… Wake up sleepy head".

"Wha?" said Aang sleepily. When he opened his eyes, he realised that he was in one of the rooms above the Jasmine Dragon, a famous teashop in Ba Sing Se owned by Iroh. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, there was a blurry figure standing over him. He rubbed his eyes some more and the blurry figure changed into Katara. _'She's so beautiful'_ thought Aang to himself as she leant in and kissed him on the mouth.

"Hey Katara, what's happening?" Aang asked after they leant out of the kiss.

"Sokka and Suki are leaving for the South Pole soon, we need to say goodbye".

"Okay, just give me a minute and I'll be right out," said Aang stretching.

"Sure, I'll just wait outside," replied Katara as she leaned in and pecked Aang a kiss on the cheek and she left the room to give Aang some privacy.

'_That was a good dream, wish all my dreams were like that'_ Aang thought to himself while he got dressed and walked outside to say goodbye to Sokka and Suki.


	2. Goodbyes

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I wish I did though…

Chapter 2: Goodbyes

As soon as Aang went outside, Katara grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where Sokka and Suki were packing their stuff onto a cart. They were leaving to the South Pole so that the Southern Water Tribe could meet Suki and so they could lead a mission to try and find any more Water Tribe villages and get in contact with them. '_I can't believe it, just over a year ago Sokka was thinking that I was a Fire Nation spy and now we're best friends and he's leaving us with Suki'_ Aang thought to himself as Sokka and Suki came to him and Katara. Suki had tears in her eyes and Sokka was just keeping it together.

"Now the only thing before we go is say goodbye to my best friend and my lil' sister" said Sokka, his voice quivering.

"Yeah I guess, good luck guys, we'll miss you – " replied Aang.

"I hope you find some more Water Tribe villages. Say hello to Gran Gran and Pakku for me. I'll miss you" interrupted Katara.

"We will, good luck with any plans in the future, I'll miss you guys" said Suki with tears now flowing freely from her eyes.

"I'll miss you too," Katara said now crying freely as well. Aang put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Now it was his goodbye moment with Sokka.

"See ya Aang, this is goodbye I guess"

"Not forever right?" said Aang, wondering whether he'd ever see Sokka again.

"Of course not! What would make you say that?"

"Oh no reason, thanks for being the bestest bud I could ever have. Good luck in the South Pole" said Aang, whose voice was starting to break.

"See ya Aang" he leaned in for a hug. "Take care of my sister okay, don't get into trouble".

"I will, now off you go, don't get lost whatever you do". With that, Suki and Sokka boarded the carriage and they drove off, further away. The group didn't move until they were just tiny specks over the horizon. As soon as they were gone, Katara went back inside, leaving Aang by himself outside staring at the now empty horizon.

When Aang went back inside, he looked around for Katara. '_Where is she? She must be upset; she might be in her room_' thought Aang as he headed to Katara's room. Every time she was upset, he always found her in her room, crying. He hated it when she was upset, it tore him up inside. He reached Katara's room. The door was closed. Aang knocked on the door and heard a muffled "come in". He opened the door, and there was Katara, lying on her bed crying.

Aang walked up and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and she leaned onto his shoulder, still crying.

"Why does everybody have to leave us?"

"What do you mean? I'm not leaving you"

"Everyone has gone off on their own, I mean, Zuko and Mai have already left so that Zuko can find his mother, Toph has gone back to her parents and just now Sokka and Suki have left to go to the South Pole. We're the only ones left". She wiped her eyes, "I had prepared myself for this but I'm still upset about it". Aang patted her on the back; he didn't know what to say. '_We could always leave and try to find the Airbenders_' a little voice in the back of his head said to him.

"Why don't we go on our own little mission?" Aang suggested. This caught Katara by surprise.

"And go where?" she asked in between sobs.

"Well, this idea just came to me, I've always wanted to prove if I was the last Airbender, so why don't we travel around the world and try to find the Airbenders?" Katara leaned out of Aang's arms. '_Please say yes, please say yes'._

"Er… okay, when do you want to leave?"

"Next week maybe, whenever you're ready".

"Next week! Oh I have to pack, get out get out" she jumped up and started pushing him out of the room.

"Hang on, we have to tell Iroh and just one more thing – " Katara grabbed his face and kissed him, when she let go Aang was in a daze. She pushed him out of the room and slammed the door in his dazed and dreaming face. The noise woke him up from his daydream and he went up to his room to start packing.


	3. Journey to the Eastern Air Temple

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, although I wish I did though…

Chapter 3: Journey to the Eastern Air Temple

The next week, the plans had been finalised and Aang and Katara had packed and had put their stuff on Appa's back. They had said goodbye to Iroh and were on their way to the Eastern Air Temple. Aang was sitting on Appa's head and Katara was sitting on his saddle. Aang was thinking quietly to himself. Katara could tell that something was wrong and crawled over to him so that she could talk to him.

"What's up Aang?" she asked, but Aang just kept looking down and shrugged. "C'mon Aang, talk to me I know when something's bothering you and something's bothering you".

"I just can't help wondering if we're just doing this for no reason, and I really am the last Airbender". Katara moved onto Appa's head and sat next to Aang.

"Don't say that Aang, there's always hope. They maybe just hid for the past hundred years. We've talked about this before okay. Don't lose hope yet" she leaned in and kissed Aang straight on the lips for a good five minutes until Aang had to break off because her could see the Eastern Air Temple nearing. _Don't lose hope yet Aang, listen to Katara, she hasn't lost hope yet, neither should you. They could've been hiding underground or something. _It was getting late, so Aang decided to land Appa so that they could camp out for the night. When they landed, Aang Firebended a campfire and Katara built the tent. They only had one tent, and it would be the first time that they had ever shared a tent before. That night, Katara made them some delicious vegetable noodles. After dinner, Katara yawned and got up and walked towards Aang.

"I'm going to go get some sleep okay, I'll see you in the morning".

"Okay, goodnight, sweet dreams". He got up and kissed her passionately. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she put her arms around his neck. They kissed once again for a good five minutes before separating. "Wow, what was that for?" Katara asked stunned.

"Er… it was, er" Aang was lost for words. "I love you, Katara. Goodnight".

"I love you too Aang, goodnight" she walked towards the tent and went inside. Aang could see a candle in the tent lit up and see Katara's shadow inside combing her hair. Then the candle went out and Aang knew that Katara was falling asleep. Now was his chance to think without Katara thinking that something was up. _How am I going to do this, without forgetting my Avatar duties?_ He remembered Avatar Kuruk explaining how he forgot his Avatar duties and he lost the love of his life to Koh the Face Stealer. He looked at the tent with Katara sleeping inside. _No I won't let that happen. _The thought of him losing Katara made him shudder, he decided to think about other things. _Okay, how am I going to find the Airbenders? I'll think about that on our way to the Eastern Air Temple. I'm going to bed. _ And with that, Aang went into the tent, laid down next to Katara and went to sleep.

_It was dark, wet and creepy. Aang was standing in the middle of a forest. What world was he in? He didn't know, yet he knew the place somehow. "Where am I? Am I in the swamp?" Aang thought to himself as he walked over a huge tree trunk. 'I need to see where I am' he thought, as he got ready to do a giant Airbending jump. But as he tried to Airbend, he couldn't. 'Okay, if I was in the normal world I would be able to Airbend, so I must be in the Spirit World'. He looked around, he couldn't think of a reason why'd he be in the Spirit World. He then heard something run, well float behind him. "HELLO? Who's there?" he yelled out whilst spinning around in a circle. Then the creature came up behind Aang and grabbed him with one of its many arms. _

"_Hello Aang" the creature said as he turned Aang around to face him._

"_Hello Koh" said Aang when he realised that the creature was Koh the Face Stealer "what do you want from me?" he asked in a monotone voice, trying to keep a straight face. _

"W_hat do I want hmmm?" Koh repeated, he scratched him face with one of his many arms. "that's a tough question. I want your face. But that seems too hard at the moment, maybe I'll take your beloved Katara's face" as he said that, Katara appeared a distance away from them. This started to get Aang angry but he held his face together. _

_Koh started to circle around Aang whist Aang kept his eyes on him. Then, suddenly Koh threw Aang into a tree and bolted at Katara. Katara at first had a confused face but it soon turned to fear when she saw Koh charging at her. She let out a loud scream as Koh tackled her to the ground. "KATARA!" Aang yelled as Koh turned to face Aang and he switched his face to Katara's and he charged back at Aang to take his face – _

"AHHHHHHHH" yelled Aang as he awoke from his nightmare. He looked around, but Katara wasn't there. '_oh no, that wasn't a dream, Katara really was taken by Koh' _but soon after Aang thought this, he heard a muffled "Aang" and the flaps of the tent opened and Katara looked in with Momo on her shoulders.

"What's wrong Aang" she asked as she sat down next to him and hugged him.

"Oh nothing's wrong Katara, just a bad dream. Can we get packed up and leave for the Air Temple now please?"

"Er sure Aang, the sooner you get ready the sooner you can leave" she leaned out of the hug and gently kissed him on the mouth and left the tent.

An hour later, they had arrived at the Eastern Air Temple.

**_PLEASE READ! Hey guys its Emma (aka twinemma26) thank you so much for reading my story so far. I will hopefully write a new chapter every couple of days (depending on school and homework). I am in love with Avatar: The Last Airbender and I will try to post chapter 4 very, very soon! Thanks again for reading my story. I love you's all!_**


	4. The Spirit World

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I wish I did and I definitely own this story. So don't steal it or I'll go Avatar State on ya! LOL**

Chapter 4: The Spirit World

Aang and Katara had just arrived at the Eastern Air Temple. Aang's mind filled with memories of when he used to visit from the Southern Air Temple. He and Katara had decided to split up and look around absolutely everywhere for any stones out of place or a hidden passageway. They had also decided to search for three days and then have a break and then search for the remaining three days.

'_We are bound to find the Air Nomads here, aren't we?' _Aang thought to himself as he and Katara unpacked their supplies off Appa's back. Katara soon noticed that Aang was very quiet so she decided to comfort him.

"Are you okay Aang? Don't worry, we'll find the Air Nomads" she said as she walked over and sat next to him on the stone, dusty floor.

"Yeah I'm fine Katara, I know we're bound to find them" he replied, doubting himself in his mind.

"C'mon Aang, let's not waste time. Let's go find some Airbenders!" Katara said enthusiastically as she got up and helped Aang to his feet. "We can go to the Air Sanctuary first and see if you can talk to Roku and get his advice".

"Sure thing Katara" Aang picked up Katara and he Airbended them onto the mountain where the Sanctuary was built. Katara knew that Aang would want to meditate so she decided to give him some peace and quiet. "I'll leave you some space, hey Aang? Aang kept his head down, he just nodded and Katara was just about to leave the Sanctuary when Aang ran after her.

"Hey Katara wait up" she turned around as he grabbed her face and smashed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They soon had to stop kissing because Katara had forgotten how to breathe and needed some air. _'Wow, two very loving kisses from Aang in two days. I wonder what's up with him'_ she thought as she tried to get in some air. She then started giggling uncontrollably as she walked out of the Sanctuary in a daze. She went out and sat just outside the doors. Aang walked up to Avatar Roku's statue and sat down and meditated. After a couple of minutes, Aang felt his spirit float up into the sky and he entered the Spirit World. Avatar Roku was waiting for him with his dragon.

**'_Hello Aang, you wanted to speak to me?' Avatar Roku walked up to Aang and signalled him to get onto his dragon to take a ride with him. Aang went up to him and jumped onto his dragon's back. _**

**"_Yes Roku I did want to talk to you. I want to ask you about –"_**

**"_Where the Air Nomads are?" _**

**"_Yes, how did you know?" Aang asked a little surprised._**

**"_I am an Avatar in the Spirit World, and I'm one of your past lives Aang, I know everything" he replied without looking back at him._**

**"_Okay, well can you please tell me if the Air Nomads are alive or not? I really want to find them," he told Roku with an impatient urge to his voice. _**

**"_Okay I will tell you. As you know Aang the Air Nomads were a peaceful nation. They didn't have a military or anything, so they had to have a plan on what to do if another nation attacks them". _**

**"_Yeah yeah I knew about that, can you please hurry up and tell me where they are hiding" interrupted Aang, his patience getting thinner and thinner with every minute of already-heard nonsense. "I'm getting to that hang on. So, the Monks of every Air Temple held a meeting, for the day of Sozin's Comet was nearing. In their meeting, they were discussing about what to do with you"._**

**"_Me? But why?" _**

**"_They were discussing about whether to move you to another Temple. Every monk agreed that it was time to tell you that you were the Avatar. They also decided to move you away from Monk Gyatso so that you could master Airbending. But you ran away soon after they told you. They had to think of a new plan since the Avatar wasn't there to save the world. No offence" Roku looked behind him at Aang, who was getting teary-eyed at the memories. "Non taken" replied Aang, "so what was their decision?"_**

**"_They decided to send some monks down to the Earth Kingdom. They asked them to build a big underground city underneath one of the Air Temples. I do not know which one or whether they are still alive. But I do know is that they made it underground before Sozin's Comet arrived. The monks were the last ones to go underground and some didn't make it back alive. Are you okay Aang?" he asked once again looking behind his shoulder and looked at Aang. Aang just nodded at him as they landed onto some Spirit World land. "The underground city should be in an Air Sanctuary or underneath the Temples. Was that all you needed Aang?"_**

**"_Yes thank you Roku, I should get back to Katara"._**

**"_Good bye Aang" and with that, Roku and his dragon disappeared and Aang returned to the Air Sanctuary._**

Aang woke up from his meditation and Katara came up from behind him when she realised that he had returned to her world.

"Well, what did Roku tell you?"

"He said that the Airbenders may have survived for the hundred years when the war was going on. He said that the monks had arranged the Earth Kingdom to Earthbend an underground city for them underneath one of the Air Nomads' Sanctuaries or Temples. We'll have a look around the Eastern Air Temple first and then we'll travel around to the others". He and Katara hugged and they decided to play some Airbending games and relive Aang's memories. They would search around the Air Temple the next day.


	5. Search of the Eastern Air Temple

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Avatar: The Last Airbender Character names and/or places. I wish I did though…

Chapter 5: Search of the Eastern Air Temple

_It was dark, it was wet, __and it was scary. Aang was standing in a wet swamp-type forest. "Where am I? What is this place" Aang called out to no one. Then a disturbing memory occurred to him. He remembered that in the last dream that he had, Koh the Face Stealer had taken Katara away from him by stealing her face and had nearly taken his face as well. "Koh! If you're here, show yourself!" a few moments passed and Koh did not appear. Then suddenly the forest went blurry and disappeared and soon after a new scenery appeared. It was the Southern Air Temple! But soon after the picture changed once again and he saw himself moving through the Air Temple and he ended up at the Air Sanctuary. It was pitch black with only a candle in the middle of the sanctuary. There was a figure sitting next to the candle. The image changed once again and Aang found himself standing over the figure. It turned out to be Katara. "Hey Katara… Katara?" he grabbed her shoulder and she turned her head to face him. As she faced him, Aang got the shock of his life. Katara had no face! The picture changed again and Aang found himself in an underground city. "This must be where the Air Nomads were hidden". Then, just as quickly the picture appeared, it changed again. This time Koh the Face Stealer was in a room. Aang remembered it to be his old room back when he was just a normal kid living in the peaceful world of the Air Nomads. _

"_What are you doing here Koh?" Aang asked trying to keep his anger under control and his face expressionless. _

"_Well, well, well isn't it the Avatar. How lovely to see you again" Koh turned towards Aang and changed his face to Katara's face._

"_Give Katara her face back Koh. What do you want?"_

"_Well, I just wanted to show you some friends of yours… do you remember this person?" he changed his face to Sokka's face. Aang could feel himself getting angrier and angrier. "Or what about this person?" Koh changed to Toph. Aang tried to keep his face as clear of expressions as possible. "What about these people?" his face then started flickering to many Air Nomads' faces until he landed on just one face… Monk Gyatso. Aang's anger and patience boiled over the edge and he burst out in anger._

"_What did you do with Monk Gyatso? Why did you do this?" Aang then stopped because he realised that he had just shown anger, an expression. Koh leaned towards him… ready to steal his face – _

"AHHHHHHH!" yelled Aang as he awoke from his nightmare. He heard from outside Appa groan and Momo screech. He had just woken them up and they were outside. That means he must of woken up Katara as well. He looked around next to him, and Katara was rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Hey Aang" she yawned, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'm sorry Katara, I had a nightmare". He soon noticed that it was light outside. "Should we go and start looking for the underground city?"

"Yea okay, just give me a minute and I'll be right out" she leaned in and kissed Aang on the lips. Aang went outside and fed Appa and Momo. '_Wow, another nightmare. I must really be losing it. But I shouldn't worry, if I worry, Katara worries. Now let's go find some Air Nomads'. _Katara soon came out of the tent and according to Aang, _'looking better than ever'_. They had breakfast, and set out towards the Eastern Air Sanctuary. They searched all day. But they didn't find anything that would lead them to an underground city. They spent several days at the Eastern Air Temple, and every night that they were there, Aang had the same nightmares about Katara, the Air Nomads, and Koh the Face Stealer.

The next week, they were travelling to the Northern Air Temple. Aang couldn't help but wonder if there weren't any Air Nomads left. _'What if I really am the last Airbender. What if the next Avatar after me can't learn Airbending? Or worse, what if the Avatar cycle is broken?' _he looked over at Katara, who was playing with Momo. _'Katara's sixteenth birthday is coming up, and I love her very much'._ An idea clicked into his head _'I know! If there aren't any Airbenders, I could marry Katara. I mean, I always wanted to marry her, but the sooner the better, right?'_ he asked to himself. He looked back to Katara, who was looking at him at the same time. Aang crawled over onto the saddle and sat down next to Katara. She wrapped his arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. They were both quiet for a very long time, until Katara started shivering, which meant that they were nearing the Northern Air Temple. Not very long after, Katara had fallen asleep on Aang's shoulder and he saw the Northern Water Tribe city nearing them. He knew that Katara would want to visit the Sister Tribe of her people (the Southern Water Tribe). He placed Katara in a sleeping position on Appa's saddle and crawled over to his head. He steered Appa to the Northern Water Tribe. '_Just a quick visit, we have time'._ When they landed, the Water Tribe people welcomed them happily. Aang woke Katara up and they went into the Northern Water Tribe…


	6. Old Friends

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Avatar: The Last Airbender characters or animals. I love Avatar and I love this story so please don't steal it; otherwise I'll go Avatar State on ya!

Chapter 6: Old Friends

When Aang and Katara entered the Northern Water Tribe city, the first people to greet them were Chief Arnook and Hahn. '_Wow, this brings back memories'_ Aang thought as he shook hands with Chief Arnook.

"Welcome back Avatar Aang and Katara! What brings you back here?" Chief Arnook asked as he hugged Katara. "Where's Sokka?"

"Its good to be back Chief Arnook, we are travelling around the world at the moment, so we thought we'd visit the beautiful Northern Water Tribe city. Sokka is currently in the Southern Water Tribe, how are you?" Aang replied.

"We're good, rebuilding the city after what…" he coughed "happened two years ago. Almost done now". Katara noticed that Hahn was very quiet. "So how are you Hahn? Last time I saw you, you were being thrown overboard in the secret attack" Katara asked Hahn, who wasn't even paying attention. Chief Arnook had to wake him up from his daydream. "Hahn! That is very disrespectful towards the Avatar and… er?" he looked at Aang, who mouthed the words "girlfriend" to him. "Er his Water Tribe warrior girlfriend Katara".

"Um, sorry Katawa. Er I'm good, er I've been promoted to Commander of the Water Tribe," he said with a boasting edge to his voice. Katara looked at Aang with an annoyed look on her face. She hated it when Hahn pronounced her name wrong.

"Okay, all done with the reunion, lets go and have a feast in welcome of our heroes!" chief Arnook said and signalled them to follow him. "I suspect that you would want some more Spirit Water from the Oasis, Katara?" "Yes, thank you Chief Arnook" Katara replied as they entered the great Water Tribe hall where a huge feast was already prepared. They sat down at the huge table and started to pick at the food. Katara started to have a conversation with Chief Arnook as Aang tried desperately to find some food that wasn't meat and he found it hard. '_Sokka would love to be here right now_.' Hahn stared at him with dislike as he took a bite out of a chicken pie. _'Or on the other hand, maybe he'd only like it for the meat'. _Aang looked down at his stomach just as it growled. '_Uh I'm starving! Where's the vegetarian food?'_ Katara stopped talking to Arnook and looked at Aang. She had also heard his stomach growl. She picked out of the huge table of food a bowl of salad and gave it to Aang.

"Here Aang, I can't believe they forgot that you were a vegetarian" Aang looked down on Katara's plate but couldn't see any meat, just salad. "I thought that since we are going out, I'd give up meat" she smiled her sweet smile that he loved. Aang felt really touched that she would give up the majority type of food that she ate, because of him!

"Thanks Katara, I really appreciate it." He leaned in and kissed Katara on the lips lovingly. She accepted the kiss even though everyone in the hall was looking at them.


	7. New Arrivals

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I love this series so yeah; I don't own any characters or places.

Chapter 7: New Arrivals

During the feast, they suddenly heard a huge bang outside of the great hall. Chief Arnook, Hahn, and all the other people that were in the hall ran outside to see what was the commotion.

"C'mon Aang let's go see what's wrong" Katara yelled over the noise of all the people outside. When they got outside, they saw a huge Fire Nation air balloon surrounded by people. They pushed through the crowd and they saw two people emerge from the air balloon.

"Zuko! Mai!" yelled Katara and Aang together. They ran towards them and hugged them.

"Hey Aang, hey Katara! I'd like you to meet someone" another figure emerged from the air balloon. "This is my mother, Ursa" the figure emerged from the air balloon and stood behind Zuko and put her hand on his shoulder. She was a tall, thin woman with long, black hair. Her clothes were Fire Nation robes but were a little tattered.

"Hello Avatar, it is a pleasure to be in your presence" Ursa said, bowing slightly to Aang.

"Nice to meet you Princess Ursa, this is my girlfriend Katara. We've heard a lot about you," replied Aang, who bowed back in respect. He turned his attention back to Zuko and Mai. "How have you been? How long have you been looking for your mother?" Katara asked.

"Oh yeah we've been all right, we had been searching for my mother for a few months". Mai nudged Zuko and coughed. "Oh and Mai and I are engaged!" he said as he grabbed Mai by the shoulder and pressed her against his side. This took Katara by surprise and she squealed and hugged Mai and Zuko tightly. Zuko was now eighteen years old and Mai was seventeen. They hadn't seen them for a year and when they last saw them, they had just gotten back together after the war had ended. Aang's stomach growled and he remembered that he hadn't eaten any of the salad that was waiting for him inside.

"Shall we go inside? It's quite cold for Katara out here" Aang said as he nudged Katara and she heard his stomach growl and got the message quickly. She shivered and they started to walk back inside the great hall.

Chief Arnook welcomed the Princess and Fire Lord and his fiancée happily. Hahn was quieter than he was before and he seemed to be in discomfort to have the Fire Nation in his homeland. Last time Fire Nation was in the Northern Water Tribe, they attacked the city and destroyed many of their buildings and even killed the Moon Spirit, this caused Arnook's daughter Yue to sacrifice herself and become the new Moon Spirit. This was a disadvantage for Hahn as he was supposed to be Yue's fiancée and he only wanted to marry her because her father was the Chief. Sokka had grown to dislike, even hate him. Sokka had loved Yue before Suki and it always makes him remember her when he looks at a full moon.

"So where were you hiding for so long Princess Ursa?" Katara asked as she took some more salad from the bowl on the table. Ursa hadn't been called "Princess Ursa" for so long that at first she didn't realise that Katara was talking to her. "Er, Princess Ursa?" Katara softly nudged Ursa on the arm and asked her the question again. This startled Ursa at being called a "Princess".

"Oh sorry, I haven't been addressed to by being called a Princess in such a long time, please call me Ursa" she said and gave Katara a very heart warming smile. "I had been living underground with the help of some Earthbenders. There were many people living underground with me, some refugees, Airbenders, some –"

"Airbenders! Where are they Ursa, please tell me" this had gotten Aang's attention and he literally flew over to Ursa and was begging to her.

"Er… um, I'm not sure Avatar, I'm pretty sure the city is underneath one of the Air Temples. I'd be able to help you find the underground city for you" she looked really unsure if she was saying the right thing. "May I ask you why you want to know where the Airbenders are?"

"He believes he may be the last Airbender, we want to find them and prove himself wrong," Katara said, pausing to get her breath.

"But you're not the last Airbender, there are hundreds, even thousands living underground. They didn't even know that the Avatar was reincarnated into their nation and that the war was going to happen."

"Aang hasn't seen his people for a hundred years, he needs them, and they need to see the Avatar."

"Will you come with us and try to find my people, please Ursa?" Aang asked, with a puppy dog look on his face. Ursa had to give in; the only problem was Zuko and Mai.

"Well, Zuko do you want to help your friends? It will lead us to spend more time together. I really want to help the Avatar and his girlfriend. Do you want to go?" she asked Zuko eagerly. Zuko looked at Mai, who nodded and smiled back and nodded to his mother happily.

"Then it's all settled! We'll leave in a few days to the Northern Air Temple." After the huge feast, Katara yawned and signalled to Aang that it was time to go to bed. With the new arrivals of Zuko, Mai and Ursa, there was only one room in the palace for Katara and Aang, which meant that they had to share a bed to Aang's great pleasure. Katara left Aang at the table to go and get ready to bed, with Aang following behind her. He followed her until she closed the door in his face. Soon after though, she opened the door and let him into their bedroom. They both crawled into bed and Katara took out some of her Waterbending scrolls and they both studied them quietly. After an hour, Katara yawned again and packed away the Waterbending scrolls. She kissed Aang on the lips; he pushed against her lips with some force. Aang thought that she was going to reject his forcing kiss, but she accepted it with some force of her own. Aang wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Aang's heart was beating so fast that he could feel it in his ears. '_No! Not yet Aang, wait!'_ yelled a voice in Aang's mind. Aang leaned out of the kiss and saw a disappointed look on Katara's face.

"What's wrong Aang, don't you want me?" she looked at him with a puppy-dog look on her face.

"Yes Katara, I do want you, I really do. It's just that, I want us to get married first" _'finally I said it, it wasn't that hard. I practically just proposed, right?' _this caught Katara by surprise. She leaned further away. Aang had to make his case believable. "Katara, I… it's just that I'm only fourteen, and your not even sixteen yet. Let's just wait, please Katara." Katara had looked away from him, obviously thinking to herself. "Katara, look at me please" Katara looked at him with her puppy-dog eyes "I love you Katara, very much. I believe that we should be married first before our relationship gets intimate. Katara if you love me enough, will you wait for me?" now he had puppy dog eyes as he looked at Katara.

"Oh… okay Aang, for you I'll wait." She leaned in and kissed Aang and held his face in her hands. When they stopped kissing, she blew out the candle and they slept peacefully through the night.


	8. The Northern Air Temple

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER! I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS, ANIMALS OR PLACES.

Chapter 8: The Northern Air Temple

"_Wake up Aang, wake up dear" Aang heard a voice call to him. He opened his eyes, and he realised that he was in a blue tent. He was wind that was coming through the tent was very cold and bits of snow flew into the tent. Where was he? Where did that voice come from? Aang sat up and sat on his elbows. A figure was standing outside the tent. Aang went outside the tent and the figure bent down and sat on the snowy floor. He was in the Southern Water Tribe village where Katara lived. Aang walked up to the figure and the figure turned slowly into Katara. She was looking down on something, a small bundle wrapped in fur. "What's that Katara?" he asked as she looked up to him with a loving smile on her face. 'Oh no' Aang thought to himself. Katara had the motherly look on her face, she only ever wore the "motherly look" was when she was with babies or little children or even when she talked about having kids. She lifted up her arms and Aang saw it. It was a baby, it was sleeping, and it was cute. The baby had short brown hair and a blue arrow on its head. "Who's is that?" Aang asked a still smiling Katara. She looked down at the baby and stared at it. _

"_Its mine Aang, and yours" she whispered. This took Aang by massive surprise. He was a father! And Katara was a mother! 'Hang on, how old am I?' he thought and he ran to a water puddle. He still looked like the soon-to-be fourteen-year-old boy that he was before. 'Thank goodness'. Then suddenly a small child popped up behind Aang. The child had brown hair and an arrow on her head. Then another identical child appeared, and another and another. Suddenly children with brown hair and arrows surrounded Aang. They jumped onto him and he yelled at the top of his lungs –_

"AHHHHH!" yelled Aang as he leaped out of the bed. His screaming woke up Katara and possibly the whole Water Tribe palace. '_That was a really weird dream' _Aang thought as Katara looked at him as if he was crazy.

"What's wrong Aang? Another nightmare?" she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Yeah Katara, just a nightmare." he wrapped his arms around her and they hugged for a good three minutes.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked him with a curious yet sympathetic look on her face. Aang shook his head and stared at the bed covers. "Okay Aang, well goodnight" she kissed Aang on the lips and rolled over and fell asleep, leaving Aang wide-awake with his thoughts.

The next morning, Aang woke up very tired. He had stayed awake all through the rest of the night. He was thinking really hard about his future, about children. His head had been full of thoughts all night. When he finally had fallen asleep, it was time to get up and plan their next trip to the Northern Air Temple. They planned that they were going to stay at the Northern Water Tribe for a few days and then leave for the Air Temple soon after. Zuko, Mai and Ursa enjoyed their visit to the Water Tribe very much and when it was time to leave, Hahn had started to trust the Fire Nation visitors and even started to get along with Zuko.

A couple of days passed and the group had left for the Northern Air Temple. It was Ursa's first trip on Appa and she enjoyed it greatly. The Air Temple wasn't far from the Water Tribe so they didn't have far to travel. Before they left the Water Tribe, they restocked on supplies and they gave them two more tents for Zuko and Mai and Ursa.

"Here are some gifts for the Avatar and his companions" Chief Arnook said to them when he gave them the supplies. He also gave Katara some more Spirit Water from the Spirit Oasis. Before they had left, Zuko apologised once again for the destruction of their magnificent city two years ago.

When they arrived at the Northern Air Temple, they decided to split up. Aang and Katara were to go to the Air Sanctuary and Zuko, Mai and Ursa were to look around everywhere on the mountain for an underground city. When they split up, Aang got his glider and Katara held onto him for dear life as they glided onto the tallest mountain where the Air Sanctuary. When they reached the door, Aang Airbended the door open and walked into the sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary was a dark, eerie room. In that room there were statues of all the past Avatars, just like the other three Temples. Aang walked straight up to Avatar Roku whilst Katara walked to the other statues to check out the other Water Tribe Avatars. Aang sat down in front of Roku and started to meditate. He needed advice, mainly about the Airbenders but also he needed advice about his love life. He opened his eyes and looked at Katara, who was checking out Avatar Kuruk. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss and blushed. Aang blushed as he closed his eyes and soon felt his spirit rising until it stopped. Aang was in the Spirit World, and Roku was standing there right in front of him.


	9. Life, Love and Loss

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER! SERIOUSLY, WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I DID? THIS IS MY ENTIRE STORY AND I DO NOT OWN THE ATLA CHARACTERS, PLACES OR ANIMALS!

Chapter 9: Life, Love and Loss

"_Hello Aang, you want to speak with me?" Roku asked as he walked over to Aang._

"_Yes Roku, I'd like to ask for your advice" they started to walk through the Spirit World. "Was it always this hard for you?"_

"_I don't understand your question young Avatar."_

"_I mean, how did you do it? How did you be the Avatar, fulfil your Avatar duties, and raise a family? How Roku, it seems so complicated!" Aang said really quickly and he realised that he was starting to yell. Roku looked a bit stricken back because of all of the questions. He thought for a little while before finally giving Aang and answer._

"_Well Aang, I was sixteen when I found out I was the Avatar, I already had a crush for a girl, so that part of my life wasn't hard." The Spirit World dissolved around them and changed into a scenery that Aang remembered only too well. It was one of Roku's memories, a memory of him and Fire Lord Sozin before Roku found out that he was the Avatar. He and Sozin were practising Firebending when two girls walk past them. Young Roku got distracted by the girls and tripped over a tree root. Sozin helped him up and he blushed as the girls laughed at him. One of the girls blushed back at him and waved at him. The memory faded and they returned to the Spirit World and Aang focused his attention back to Roku. _

"_Was that the girl, who turned out to be your wife?" _

"_Yes it was Aang, I loved her, it was so easy back then, when I didn't know I was the Avatar…" his voice travelled off, for he knew that his memory wasn't helping Aang at all._

"_Okay, but what happened to you when you found out that you were the Avatar?" Aang was getting impatient with Roku._

"_Okay, okay Aang" the picture dissolved again and changed to a memory of Roku leaving to learn the other elements. It showed Roku learning the elements and finally returning to the Fire Nation to a new Sozin, and a new love. It showed his wedding day and his family growing, with his children and him travelling the world._

"_When I returned home as the fully mastered Avatar, I was older, wiser and ready for love. I married the love of my life –"_

"_The woman whom you had a crush on when you were sixteen" Aang interrupted._

"_Yes Aang, her name was Ta Minh. We got married a few months after I returned home. Turns out she loved me as much as I loved her. My Avatar duties started on my wedding day, when Sozin told me his plans for world domination. When he told me his plans, I refused straight away for I couldn't let him take over the world. I knew that he wouldn't let it slide, but he was my best friend and I forgot about his plans soon after he told me. Little did I know, but years later, his plans had been carried out, despite my warning? I confronted him when I found out that he was carrying out his plans, he tried to challenge me and he attacked me from behind." He paused and looked at Aang as the memory carried on. It was showing him and Sozin having a duel in Sozin's throne room. _

"_Uh Roku, what has that got to do with love?" _

"_I'm getting to that Aang, I'm telling you that about my Avatar duties" he looked back onto the memory and Aang watched it too._

"_I let him go after the battle, mainly because of our past friendship, big mistake. I had no idea what he was up too, for we didn't talk to each other for twenty-five years after our battle. I lived at my home with my wife, I never forgot what Sozin was planning and the world was at peace, so I left my Avatar duties with only Sozin's plans in mind. When my volcano on my island erupted, I attempted to stop it, but I needed help. My animal guide left me to get Sozin, and he helped me face the volcano. When we were about to leave, a poisonous ball of gas flew up into my face and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see, I reached out for Sozin and begged him to help me, but he just looked on and he told me that he has no found the opportunity to take over the other nations. He got onto his dragon and left me to die…" Aang looked at Roku with a shocked expression on his face. Sozin was like his brother; it would be like Sokka leaving him to die. It would've felt horrible. Aang had a new sense of respect and sympathy for Roku. "I had a family with Ta Minh. And I didn't forget my Avatar duties, for it was mainly peaceful. It is easy for you too Aang, for the world is at peace once again. Follow your heart, and you shall succeed in every thing you attempt". The Spirit World faded and Aang felt his spirit floating back down to his body…_

Soon enough, his spirit returned to his body. Aang opened his eyes, and he saw Katara looking down on him from a few storeys high. '_How long was I in the Spirit World?'_ he asked himself as he stood up and Katara skipped down the stone steps and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey Aang, missed you whilst you were talking to Roku" she pecked a kiss onto his lips and Aang kissed her back. _'Thanks Roku for the advice, hang on, what about the Air Nomads?'_ he thought suddenly. Before he knew it, Zuko ran to the sanctuary.

"What is it Zuko?" Katara asked and she unwrapped her arms from around his waist. Instead he put his arms around Katara's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Mother… just got a… memory about the… Air Nomads!" he said trying to gather some air to fill up his lungs.

"Well where is she? And where is Mai?" Aang asked and they walked closer to him.

"Over with Appa, she doesn't like the memories that she's remembering, it's shaken her up… it's about your people." They ran at full speed all the way down the mountain to get to Ursa.


	10. Startling Memories

_AUTHOR'S NOTE:__ Yay! My 10__th__ chapter in my very first Avatar: The Last Airbender story! Thanks so much for you're many reviews which I truly appreciate and I am very grateful for you guys reading, reviewing, favouriting my story and me and putting me on your story subscriptions list. So I have one word to say to you… THANKYOU! Also, sorry it took so long to write this chapter, I had school and lots of homework (even though I'm in Year 8, no where near senior years). Now, back to the story, but first, the disclaimer. _

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER CHARACTERS, PLACES OR ANIMALS! MIKE AND BRIAN OWN AVATAR, NOT ME!

Chapter 10: Startling Memories

Aang, Katara and Zuko ran for their lives, well Katara and Zuko did as Aang flew on his glider. Aang was desperate to get to Ursa and find out about the Air Nomads quickly. He flew to Appa and arrived there before Katara and Zuko. He went straight to where Ursa and Mai who were sitting on one of Appa's feet and Mai was comforting Ursa. Turns out Ursa had lost part of her memory when Zuko found her and had gotten flashbacks before, but none of them were bad, like this memory. Aang flew down to Ursa and knelt before her.

"What did you remember Ursa? What about the Air Nomads?" Aang asked grabbing her hands and begging her. She was sobbing hard but soon she stopped crying and started to recite the memory.

"It was a terrible night…

_It__ was raining and it was dark. It was very late at night. I had just been banished from the Fire Nation for doing horrible things. I decided to escape to the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, for it was the one place that the Fire Nation couldn't take over. Not even Iroh could take over it. Iroh had made me a member of the White Lotus group and had taught me how to play Pi Sho. When I entered Ba Sing Se, I met a nice old man who just happened to be a member of the White Lotus and he welcomed and helped me with open arms. He showed me to a place where I would be safe. All I know is that we travelled for hours on a ship and we then went underground for some time. Once a week the old man would come down and give me a week worth of food and water. Until one day a young boy came down and said that the old man had died. How sad, he had asked the boy to come down and give me the food. He was so kind! It was sad that he had died. I was lonely underground for three months. Until one day, a whole group of people with arrows on their heads and wearing monk clothes rushed underground. They looked like they had been running or escaping from something for days, weeks or even years! I asked them what they were and they said that they were Air Nomads! I couldn't believe it, Air Nomads! I believed that they were extinct. I became close friends with one of the monks, his name was Monk Gyatso. He was my best friend while we were there and he was very wise and kind. We stayed underground for I think five years or so until something dreadful happened…' _

Ursa stuttered. She started pouring her eyes out when the memory came to her. Aang was still holding her hands and kneeling before her. He was taking it hard to hear that the Air Nomads were indeed alive, nearly ten years ago and she knew Monk Gyatso! He couldn't believe it, his mind was filling up with emotion, first it was sad that he wasn't there to help them, and he was also happy that they were alive. Katara and Zuko ran up to Aang and he hugged Katara lovingly.

"They're alive Katara! They're alive and she knew Monk Gyatso!" he exclaimed and he kissed her lips hard. She was happy and shocked at the same time. Until Ursa coughed and they gave her their full attention.

"I wasn't finished Aang, there's still more" she added defensively, she obviously didn't like the idea of Aang being happy when he hadn't heard the whole story yet.

"Sorry Ursa, you were saying" he sat down on one of Appa's feet, crossed his legs and sat up straight attentively.

"As I was saying…

_W__e stayed underground for five years until something dreadful happened. We got found out and Fire Nation soldiers attacked our underground city. They tore down our whole city and started to capture some of the monks who couldn't escape fast enough. Monk Gyatso and I got out quickly and ran to safety with some of the Air Nomads that escaped. I believe that the soldiers only took the really old monks, the ones that didn't like me and were very, very strict. I don't know what happened to them but I think they were just captured. I hope… anyway when we got away far enough, we found a cave to live in. we stayed in the cave for a couple of weeks eating fruits and vegetables that we found. Until one day Monk Gyatso decided that he was going to go back to the Southern Air Temple to see whether someone was there, he was waiting for you Aang. He talked about you so much whilst we were underground. He loved you Aang, like a son. He was heartbroken Aang, when you left. But he said that he wasn't heartbroken for long, for he believed that you left for the right reasons, and he believed that you were alive, and well and would hopefully save the world, and you did. I never saw Gyatso after he left. The Air Nomads seemed to had disintegrated when he left, they knew in their hearts that they were never going to see him again, so they decided to travel and find another place to live. They agreed that if they couldn't find another place in three years, they would go back to the underground city and rebuild it. I agreed that I would meet them there too. We parted ways and that was two years ago, so they may still be alive. I remember seeing your bison Aang, flying over the Earth Kingdom a year and a half ago. I believe it was just before Ozai fell."_

Ursa stopped telling the story and Aang stared at her with his mouth wide open in amazement. They may still be alive. There was only one problem, Ursa didn't know where the underground city was. They decided that they were going to travel to the Eastern Air Temple and then the Southern Air Temple and if they weren't there, they would try to find the underground city. 


	11. The Dream

Author's Note: I'm sorry I wrote in my last chapter that they were travelling to the Eastern Air Temple, I'm sorry they're going to the Western Air Temple instead. I forgot where we were up to…

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar, sadly…

Chapter 11: The Dream

After a couple of days at the Northern Air Temple, Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai and Ursa left to travel to the Western Air Temple. When they left, Aang and Katara usually sat on Appa's head whilst Zuko and Mai lay down snuggled up together. Ursa normally sat by herself and sometimes pretended to have conversations with Momo.

'_It's such a beautiful night'_ Aang thought to himself whilst they were flying. Katara was resting her head on his shoulder and was about to fall asleep. Ursa, Mai and Zuko were sleeping on Appa's saddle quietly. Katara's head slipped off his shoulder and landed into his lap as she fell asleep. '_We better land and get some sleep'_ thought Aang as he turned Appa towards the ground. When they landed, the group were still sleeping so he made tents for each of them and woke them up so that they could go into their tents. He and Katara shared a tent once again and Katara fell asleep in his arms and soon after Aang fell asleep, still hugging Katara.

_It was bright and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. Aang was walking into a bright room. He opened the huge wooden doors and walked into the room. There were heaps of people in the room, in many rows of seats. Aang walked up the aisle and stood at the front of the room. There was possibly a hundred or even more people in that room, all looking up at Aang happily. Sokka was standing next to him, in a bright blue Southern Water Tribe suit. He shook his hand and gave him his famous Sokka dopey grin. Some music started playing and the wide doors opened once again. A girl walked down the aisle and Aang soon realised that it was Toph… in a light blue dress! Shortly behind her stood a young woman who soon turned into __Suki; she too was wearing a light blue dress, though slightly longer. She stood next to Toph who was standing next to Aang. They both smiled at him and Suki kissed Aang on the cheek and Toph punched him in the arm. The music changed once again and the doors opened wide and a beautiful woman walked through the doors and she turned into Katara. She was looking so beautiful. With a long white dress and a veil in her hair. On the veil she had beautiful blue and white flowers. Obviously for the Water Tribe and Air Nomads. She stood next to Aang and he held her hand. She looked absolutely beautiful. They turned towards a short bald monk whom Aang did not notice before. He had a bright blue arrow on his head and Aang soon noticed that he was an Airbending Monk. They had found the Air Nomads! This made Aang so happy. The monk started to talk about love and marriage and undying loyalty that a married couple have for each other. After a while Aang looked at Katara and noticed that she was smiling at him, he smiled back and squeezed her hand. Then Sokka yawned a long loud yawn. Aang and Katara laughed, but they weren't the only ones, for everyone watching the ceremony laughed. Zuko, Mai, Toph, Teo, Hakoda and even Master Pakku and Katara's grandmother. The monk coughed to get everyone's attention and they all became silent. Aang and Katara turned back to the monk and Aang nudged Sokka to keep him awake. After a while the monk started actually going on with the ceremony. _

"_Will you, Aang of the Air Nomads, take you, Katara of the Water Tribe, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to hold, through sickness and through health, through good times and bad?" Sokka gave Aang a beautiful gold necklace with Katara's betrothal stone on it. Aang didn't have to think of the answer as he took the necklace from Sokka. _

"_I do" he replied as Katara lifted her veil and hair out of the way and he fastened the necklace around her neck. Aang smiled and Katara smiled back, her sparkly bright blue eyes shining up at him. The guests awed and a few of the women blew their noses and wiped their eyes. Aang saw in the corner of his eye that Mai was one of the women crying, that was definitely a first. The monk coughed once again and the noises from the crowd stopped once again. _

"_Will you, Katara of the Water Tribe, take you, Aang of the Air Nomads, to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to hold, through sickness and through health, through good times and bad?" Suki gave Katara a lovely gold bracelet with the Air Nomad and Water Tribe symbols carved next to each other. She looked up at Aang and smiled widely as she spoke. _

"_I do" she replied as she fastened the bracelet around his wrist and the crowd once again awed. The monk ignored them this time, for he had given up telling them to be quiet. _

"_I am happy to now pronounce you, in the eyes of the Spirits, man and wife. You may now kiss the bride" Aang grabbed Katara's delicate veil and flung it over her head. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard. They were married, and were now going to have a long life to live with each other, with their family, happily and lovingly. The crowd cheered and clapped loudly. When they stopped kissing they grabbed each other's hands and ran down the aisle, where the crowd threw rice and the children blew bubbles onto them. Aang and Katara ran straight to Appa who had a huge roll of parchment stuck to his tail saying "Just Married" and they flew away, into their new life together…_

Aang woke up quietly. It was already bright and Katara wasn't in the tent with him. He got up and put his shirt back on and walked outside to the smell of cooking pears. It was the smell of his favourite food; roasted pears. He noticed that Zuko, Mai and Ursa had already packed their tents away and were eating roast duck. Aang thought he was going to throw up when the aroma of duck blew past his nose. He Airbended the air away from him and literally flew to Katara, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek. This caught her by surprise and she turned around and kissed him on the lips. They sat down and ate their breakfast, for Katara had also chosen to keep her promise and become a vegetarian. After breakfast they packed up their gear and Aang flew Appa on their way to the Western Air Temple. Whilst they flew, Aang kept on thinking about his dream. _'Sometimes the Avatar can have dreams that are the future'_ a little voice in his head said to him. Aang flashed a wide smug grin across his face and did a little dance in his head. Aang soon saw the Western Air Temple appear over the horizon and they continued flying to the Western Air Temple.


	12. Friendly Reunion

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, however I would like to own a Purple Pentapus one day…

Chapter 12: Friendly Reunion

They travelled for a couple of hours. It was quiet; Katara had just fallen asleep in the Appa's saddle with Zuko, Mai and Ursa. The Western Air Temple was slowly coming closer into view. Aang soon noticed that there was something flying around the tallest tower of the temple. Aang felt his hopes rise to the brim and overflow. He literally flew to Katara and woke her up suddenly.

"Wha – Aang are we at the temple yet?" she asked dreamily.

"We're almost there Katara! I found the Airbenders! They're here, at the temple!" he yelled as he grabbed he hand and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled a little as soon as she realised that Appa was still flying. She had to stop the young Airbender from throwing them both off of the big furry snot-monster (as Sokka used to call him) by wrapping her arms around him and hold him close to her. After they both got their balance back, Katara noticed that Aang was getting taller than her. She looked up at him and he looked down on her, she smiled at him and he smiled back.

"You've grown taller you know" she said with a cheeky grin crossing her face.

"What I have, cool!" he said and he only now just noticed. He wasn't much taller, maybe just a few inches. Katara stood on her tippy toes and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed him on the lips and they kissed for a good minute before Aang saw in the corner of his eye the Western Air Temple. They were about a kilometre away from the temple, Aang let go of Katara and they both sat down onto Appa's head and continued flying. When they landed, Aang flew down off Appa and was jumping with excitement, like a little kid about to go penguin sledding. In fact, the face that he was showing Katara reminded her about the young, twelve-year-old boy that she had grown to fall in love with. Now he was nearly fourteen, and had grown up so much.

"Off you go Aang, go find the Airbenders" she said as she kissed him lightly on the mouth and he opened up his glider and flew into the temple.

As Aang flew, he couldn't believe his eyes. There, flying near the top of the temple tower were people, with gliders. He flew as fast as he could and he landed onto the top of the tower. But when he got there he noticed that the "Airbenders" were just normal people with gliders. Just like the people they had met at the Northern Air Temple when he and Katara had just met. Teo, the paraplegic kid with an Airbender's spirit lived there with his father and village, they had changed the temple so much that it made Aang angry inside. He just couldn't believe it that he was tricked again. He flew down onto the mountain where there was a whole bunch of onlookers standing. He landed and he felt the anger overflow and he couldn't stand it any more.

"Everybody! Listen to me!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and everyone turned around with confused faces.

"Hey look it's the Avatar," said one of the little children who were holding onto his mother.

"Why are you here? Who has brought you here? What have you already done to this place?" he asked and he looked at one of the older men in the group as some of the gliders landed behind the group.

"Why are you HERE!" he yelled, demanding that they answer him for he couldn't stand the fact that they could have changed another temple. Suddenly the group of people parted and a young teenage boy in a wheelchair rolled in front of the group.

"Hey I know that voice, is it you Aang?" Teo asked when he saw Aang standing there. Aang instantly released any anger that was still inside of him.

"Oh it's just you Teo, what are you doing here?" Aang smiled at the young teen.

"Well Aang, why don't we go somewhere else to talk –"?

"Is that you Twinkle Toes? I know those feet if I felt them a mile away!" yelled a voice from the inside of the temple.

"Toph?" Aang asked Teo, giving him a confused look.

"Like I said, let's go inside".

Aang flew back to Katara and the Fire Nation royals and told them that Teo and Toph were there at the temple. Katara was just as eager as him to go and see their old mates again. Soon after, Aang and Katara were sitting at a table in a huge room with Teo and Toph, who were sitting quite close. Zuko, Mai and Ursa had decided to go and rest in one of the old Air Temple rooms.

"So, Toph what brings you here with Teo?" Katara asked her after Teo told her and Aang their story, obviously forgetting to tell them him and Toph's relationship status.

"Well" she said blushing "Teo and I are kinda going out" this caught Aang by surprise although Katara's theories were proved right.

"Congratulations Toph, I never thought you had a romantic side," Katara said giving Toph a sly, cheeky smile.

"Well… er…" stuttered Toph, blushing uncontrollably whilst Katara still stared and smiling at her. There was then an awkward silence.

"Sooo, how are you and Katara? I hear it's your birthday soon Katara, sweet sixteen hey, can't wait?" Teo addressed Aang, which caught him by surprise, seeing as he had completely forgotten about her birthday. '_What kind of a boyfriend am I when I don't even remember my girlfriend's birthday'_ Aang thought as he was speechless. Luckily Katara answered for him.

"Yeah Teo, my birthday's in two days, can't wait… Sokka and Suki are supposed to be sending presents to me from the South Pole via Momo, we sent him on his way before we reached the temple. I hope I get some jewellery…" she trailed off and winked at Aang, who blushed uncontrollably. An idea soon came to his head and he rushed out of the great room to make Katara her birthday present.


	13. Katara's Present

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, although I do want a Flying Bison for Christmas.**

_**Chapter 13: Katara's present**_

'_What should I get Katara for her birthday?' _Aang asked himself as he walked around in circles in his room. '_I can't buy a present for her, she'll know I took money'_ he had just flown out of the hall where Katara, Toph and Teo were talking about Katara's birthday and he had completely forgotten about her birthday. His mind had been full of thoughts and ideas about finding the Airbenders. '_what kind of a boyfriend am I? don't even remember my own girlfriend's birthday'_ he thought to himself. Then an idea popped into his head and he looked under his bed, took a small leather pouch and opened up his glider and flew out into the open.

Aang flew and flew until he arrived at a small garden with a lake that was behind the Air Temple. He landed next to the lake, he Waterbended some water and mixed it with some dirt, which made clay. He molded the clay until he made a nice clay stone-like object. He Firebended at the stone until it was hard and was indestructible. He then noticed that it was a yucky brown colour, but that's why he brought along the leather pouch. He opened the pouch and poured out it's contents; some blue powder. He Waterbended some more water and mixed it up with the powder, which turned the water and powder into a blue paint-like substance. Aang dipped the stone into the paint and it instantly started turning less brown and more blue. The sun started to fall unto the horizon. Katara would be waiting for him, possibly worried sick. He decided to leave the stone in the paint so that it would soak up the colour. _'no one even knows that the garden exists, I'll leave it here' _thought Aang as he opened up his glider, took one last glance at Katara's present and took off.

When he got back to his room, Katara was looking out one of his windows. Aang landed on the windowsill opposite Katara. He walked over to her, she didn't hear him for he walks ever so quietly. _'no wonder Toph calls me Twinkle Toes'_ thought Aang as he walked up to her, until he was just inches away from her head. He could smell the sea salt mixed with wildflowers scent in her hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she jumped in shock. She noticed that it was just Aang and she continued to look at the sunset with him.

"where were you Aang when you left us?" she asked after a few moments of non-awkward silence.  
"oh I was… er…" he couldn't think of something to say. "I went to the Sanctuary to meditate". He looked over at Katara to see if his story was believable. Turned out it was as Katara turned around, still in Aang's arms and looked up to him with her crystal blue eyes. She stood up on her tippy toes and grabbed his face to kiss him. she was kissing him with passion and energy, she wanted more, and so did Aang, but there was a little voice screaming in the back of his head, telling him to stop and to remember his beliefs. It worked and he pulled away from her. When he turned away from her, he saw the disappointment and sadness in her face mixed with shock. Aang just looked at the ground, for he knew that if he looked at her sad, puppy dog eyes, he would just melt.

"I'm sorry Katara, it's just –"  
"I know Aang, I got carried away. I'm sorry, I disrespected your belief" Katara interrupted him. Aang just stood there with his mouth open, he was gobsmacked. He loved Katara so much. He kissed her on the lips and they soon decided to go bed.

The next morning, Katara had planned to go searching for the Airbenders with Zuko, Mai and Ursa. Aang told Katara that he was going to go meditate in the Air Sanctuary again and that he didn't want interruptions. Instead he went back to the lake to check on the stone. When he got there, the stone was a beautiful sparkling blue, very much like Katara's eyes. He then had to decide how to carve the symbols on it. He decided to make a knife out of water and carve the symbols with the water. He worked super hard to carve the symbols since it was Katara's birthday the very next day. He decided to carve the Water Tribe and the Air Nomad symbols on the stone, one on either side of the stone. When he finally finished he was very satisfied with it, in fact it was beautiful. Also like it was carved by the Spirits, especially like it was carved by Yue, the Moon Spirit. Now he only had to make the necklace part of it. He found some silk plants in the garden and he dyed the silk a light blue. He weaved the silk to make a lovely strap of blue silk. He attached the stone to the strap and finally, it was finished.

He looked at the betrothal necklace that he had just made, it was perfect. He put it into a leather bag and sealed it shut. Aang then flew up to his room so that he could find a place to hide it until the next day. He searched and searched but there was nowhere to hide it. Aang finally decided to hide the necklace in his Air Nomad clothes. He decided to wait in his room for Katara, who would be back soon for it was nearly dark. When she came back they had a quiet dinner of roast vegetables and they went to bed early, for they both had a long day of hard work. The next morning, it was Katara's sixteenth birthday.


	14. Katara's Birthday

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, although if it was real I would probably be a Waterbender.

Chapter 14: Katara's Birthday

Aang looked over at his girlfriend, it was still early in the morning at it was her sixteenth birthday. He stared at her and admired her beautiful long chocolate brown hair. He kissed her hair and smelt the sea salt mixed with wild flower aroma that overwhelmed his senses. He swiftly and quietly got out of bed and tippy-toed his way to the door. He looked back at his sleeping girlfriend and stared in awe at the way she slept. He walked out the door and Airbended himself down the long staircase all the way down to the bottom floor. He walked down the long corridors until he reached the Western Air Temple Great Hall. The hall was a huge room with statues of the past Airbending Avatars. He hadn't been in the hall for a hundred years, and it was gathering dust everywhere. Aang walked into the hall and checked out the statues. He soon noticed that there was a new statue standing at the front of the hall. It wasn't as dusty as the rest, probably had been there for only a year. He walked up to the statue and he noticed that it was a statue of… him! It was shorter than the rest and it was very detailed. Aang smiled to himself, he stared at the statue for a little while until he decided that he needed to tidy up the hall.

Aang made a giant air ball and blew all the dust off the statues. He then bended the dust into a giant dust ball and blew it out of the hall. When he finished the statues were clean and sparkling. He decided to light some torches and Earthbend some fountains with fresh running water. Once he had Earthbended the fountain and brought in some water, he left the hall and Earthbended some giant stone doors to stop anyone, partially Katara, from getting into the hall. He flew back up to his room and slowly crept next to Katara, who was still sleeping. He kissed her forehead and walked over to the windowsill. The sun was bright in the sky as he looked down onto the Air Temple. He saw Appa in the stables eating some fresh hay that Teo may have given him. Aang saw Momo sitting next to Appa eating some moon peaches out of a bowl. He laughed quietly as he watched Appa lick a peach out of Momo's bowl. He then heard Katara yawn from the bed.

"Aang? Is that you?" she asked as she yawned again. Aang walked up to Katara's bedside and kissed her gently on the lips.

"happy birthday Katara!" he exclaimed as he jumped onto the bed and crossed his legs. This made Katara laugh as he looked like the twelve-year-old kid she fell in love with. He grinned widely when he saw Katara laugh until he remembered his present that he made for her. He pulled out the leather bag out of his clothes and gave it to her. Katara's eyes opened wide when she saw the bag and she tried to open it. Aang grabbed the bag when he noticed that she was having trouble opening it. He loosened the string and opened it, but he didn't take the present out of it. He gave it back to her and she looked down at it, not knowing what to do.

"you didn't have to get me anything" she said and she looked at him with her bright blue, gleaming eyes. Aang stared at her, speechless.

"I… er… happy birthday Katara" he said as she began to open the bag. She gasped when she pulled out the beautiful betrothal necklace; she stared at him with her mouth so wide it could be a flycatcher. Aang just smiled at her until she realised her mouth was open and smiled back at him.

"Katara, I love you –"

"yes, yes Aang I will marry you!" she interrupted him and she brought him into the biggest hug he ever experienced and then she kissed him on both cheeks several times before finally kissing him on the lips. Aang didn't know what was happening, one second he's giving her the present, next second they're engaged.

Katara took off her mother's necklace and held it in her hand, staring at it whilst deep in thought. Aang knew that Kya's necklace was one of Katara's most prized possessions. It was also the only thing she had in memory of her. He knew that it was going to be hard for Katara to take off her mother's necklace. Aang took her mother's necklace and tied it around her wrist.

"so you will never forget about her" he said whilst he tied the necklace around her wrist.

"if she was still here, she would have loved you Aang" she thought for a moment. "who should we tell first?"

"well Katara, first we need to celebrate your birthday. Your sixteen Katara!" he exclaimed as she attached Aang's betrothal necklace around her neck. "c'mon we need to go downstairs" he grabbed Katara's hand and was about to leave when she pulled back. She signalled to him silently that she had to get ready and he left the room. Whilst she changed, he ran down the stairs to find Teo, Toph, Zuko, Mai and Ursa to tell them that there was going to be a party in the Great Hall.

When Katara finished they got downstairs and Aang blindfolded Katara and lead her into the Great Hall for the party. Zuko had turned out the lights and it was completely dark. Aang then took off the blindfold and everyone jumped out from behind the statues and they gave Katara such a fright, that she could've jumped out of her skin. When the lights came back on, Aang saw some long tables filled with food, most of them vegetarian and there was a band called "The Flameos" who were standing in front of his statue. The party was so much fun with dancing and presents and food. They hadn't told anyone about their engagement and they planned to tell the world in a speech. When it was time for the speech, Katara and Aang stood in front of everyone and coughed for silence. When they told them about their engagement, they were surrounded by people clapping, laughing, crying and even screaming. The party ended very late at night and when it was finally over, Aang and Katara were exhausted. When they finally went to bed, they crashed and fell asleep instantly. It was a fantastic way to spend a birthday. Aang was so happy because he and Katara were finally engaged. They were going to get married, and have children and raise a family together. They would be together, forever.


	15. Journey to the South, Part 1

A/N: I am sooooooo sorry for this chapter being so late. I had been copying out this story in a notebook and I am only up to chapter 5! Anyways, I hope you love this chapter. P.S – Aang becomes a man in his mind :D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but if we had bending abilities; I'd be a Waterbender!

_Chapter 15: Journey to the South, Part 1_

**Aang and Katara stayed at the Western Air Temple for two weeks, and they got no closer to finding the Airbenders than they had when they met up with Zuko, Mai and Ursa. Aang was starting to get stressed and had started to have nightmares again. They were mostly about the death of the Airbenders and how he wasn't there to stop the Fire Nation from destroying them. Aang was stressed, and Katara was getting worried about him. She hated it when he was being mentally tortured like that. **

**After two weeks, Aang had finally enough of the Temple and they decided to leave for the Southern Air Temple; Aang's old home. Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai and Ursa were packing their belongings on Appa when Toph and Teo walked up behind them. When Aang turned around he noticed that Teo had two large bags on his lap and Toph had several bags of food. Aang already knew what they were going to say.**

"**No guys, you can't come with us" he said, his voice stern and very controlling. **

"**No you listen Air Head!" Toph exclaimed, who obviously wanted to get her message across before he said anything in protest. "I left my home to go on an adventure with Teo. I do not want to go home back to them and no offence Teo, but the Temples' a little boring. Plus I have also missed feeling sick on Appa". Whilst she talked, Aang was searching for a good argument in his mind.**

"**What's it going to take to have you guys not coming with us?" he asked, challengingly.**

"**Just about nothing" Teo added.**

"**It's too dangerous guys, plus it's getting crowded on Appa" Katara butted in.**

"**Ha! Yeah right. We've met much more dangerous things on our trip two years ago when Aang had to defeat Ozai. Teo can glide alongside Appa and then there's enough room," Toph argued back. **

"**Fine, whatever" Aang gave up. He threw his arms in the air in defeat, took the bags from them and packed them on Appa. An hour later, they were on their way to the Southern Air Temple. **

**Whilst Appa flew, Teo was gliding next to them with his chair-glider. Katara and Ursa were having a nice conversation about wedding plans, Toph and Zuko were having a heated argument about which nation is tougher with Mai sleeping on Zuko's shoulder and Aang sat on Appa's head with his knees tucked against his chest. He was thinking about the future, and how it could be changed dramatically so quickly. He was thinking about his engagement with Katara, and the Airbenders, and the future of the world. Katara noticed that he was awfully quiet and she ended her chat with Ursa and crawled over all the bags up to Aang and sat down next to him on Appa's head. She laid her head against his shoulder and sighed. It was sunset and it looked absolutely beautiful, but it never compared to Katara in Aang's eyes. They stared out at the sunset for what felt like hours, until Aang and Katara stared at each other. Katara, with her blue eyes sparkling in the dimming light and Aang, with his bright blue arrow visible in the darkness. Katara placed her hand onto Aang's cheek. She leaned towards him and pressed her lips against his softly. Aang felt her cool lips press against his warm lips. They kissed for what felt like hours, or maybe it was just a few minutes until Aang had to stop it because the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. He landed Appa in a grassy meadow surrounded by trees. They set up camp and fell asleep for the night soon after.**

_**Aang opened his eyes. He was in a blue Water Tribe tent. Where was he? He lifted himself up on his elbows and looked around and there was Katara looking at him, smiling. She looked older than he remembered, possibly nineteen or twenty years old and she was wearing her betrothal necklace that Aang had made for her. Her hair was longer than it was before; it was now below her waist. Aang grabbed a mirror that was laying beside him and looked at it. He looked way older; he looked like a young adult. He was eighteen years old. He wore a leather band around his wrist with a stone on it. The stone had a Water Tribe symbol and the Air Nomad symbol on both sides of the stone. They were married! He turned back to Katara and she kissed him full on the lips. She showed a massive desire in the kiss and the way she wrapped her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with full force back. It was a blissful oblivion and there was no going back now…**_

**Aang woke up with a start. He saw the blur that was the tent. The light from the sun was shining in from outside. He looked at Katara, who was sleeping soundly next to him. He smiled at the thought that she could be dreaming about anything random or even about him. He opened the flaps of the tent and crawled outside. Ursa was already awake and was cooking breakfast on a fire. Aang noticed she was cooking meat, and the smell reached his nose and smelt horrible. Aang had to hold his mouth closed to stop himself from gagging. He ran behind the fire where the wind wasn't blowing and allowed himself to blow in some air. He searched a bag that was on the floor and pulled out some vegetables and he made his own mini-campfire and began roasting the vegetables. **

**When he had finished cooking the vegetables, he heard a yawn and a muffled "Aang" from inside the tent. Zuko, Mai, Toph and Teo had already woken up and were eating the meat that Ursa had cooked them. Katara was the last one to wake up.**

"**Katara, I'm outside" Aang called out towards the tent. A minute later Katara crawled out of the tent wearing the beautiful Fire Nation silk robe that she had worn when they were in the Fire Nation two years before. Aang stared at her with his mouth wide open. Katara began to blush when Zuko nudged him and whispered at him to close his mouth. **

"**Er… hi Aang, how do I look?" she asked as she did a turn on the spot to show off her clothes. Aang didn't know what to say, she just looked so beautiful. **

"**Beautiful, absolutely gorgeous Katara" Ursa answered for him, as his mouth had opened wide again. **

"**Er… thank you Ursa you're too kind. Shall we get going to the Temple? Or can we stop at my village for a visit?" she asked as Aang gripped himself together. **

"**Yes, yes we should get going. Er, we can visit the village if you want Katara, we've got time" he gave her the massive smile that she loved most about him. She nodded at him and he clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled, we're off to the Southern Water Tribe!" **__


	16. Journey to the South, Part 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I never will… I'll just go cry in a corner now

Chapter 16: Journey to the South, Part 2

**Soon after, the gang had packed their stuff on Appa's back and were flying, and gliding towards the South Pole. Aang was sitting on the Sky Bison's head with Katara sitting next to him, holding his hand. Teo was gliding next to Appa, he was talking to Toph, who was facing completely the other way. Ursa was staring at the sky and the sea below in awe for she had never been over water on a Flying Bison before. Zuko and Mai were lying in the saddle in each other's arms. The air had started to chill, and it was lucky that Katara had packed some fur jumpers for her, Toph and Teo for they were the only ones who didn't have a fire chi in them and Katara was used to the cold. Katara couldn't wait to get back to the South Pole and see her family again. They flew for a few hours until they had to stop because Toph and Teo had to put on their jumpers. But soon after they were flying again. Katara had fallen asleep next to Aang on Appa's head, now it was her turn to dream…**

_**It was bright, it was warm, and it was peaceful. Katara looked around. Where was she? Where was Aang? Where were everybody? She turned on the spot until she noticed that she was wearing a beautiful light blue Water Tribe wedding dress. 'where am I?' she thought as she looked out to the scenery. She was standing on an island, it seemed familiar somehow. Then an idea occurred to her; she was on the island that Sokka took them when they were preparing for the Invasion on the Day of Black Sun. she noticed some people coming towards her… it was Suki, and Sokka! Suki was in a beautiful dress that was mixed Water Tribe and Kyoshi Warrior, "Sokka, are you wearing a suit?" Katara asked when she finally saw Sokka clearly. He was wearing a dark blue Water Tribe suit. He looked very handsome in it. **_

"_**c'mon Katara, you can't be late to your wedding" Suki held her hand out for Katara to grab hold of.**_

"_**okay" she took her hand "hang on, did you just say my wedding!" **_

"_**yes sweetie, your wedding… to Aang?" Suki looked at Katara as if she was crazy.**_

"_**oh of course, my wedding" she said unconvincingly. Suki and Sokka didn't hear the uncertainty in her voice and they grabbed her and pulled her around a large mountain. The first thing Katara saw was a white, silk aisle and heaps of chairs on both sides of the silk cloth. There were many people looking back at them but Katara was only looking at one person; Aang was standing at the top of the aisle with a huge grin on his face, the grin that she fell in love with. He was wearing the monk clothes that he wore on Zuko's coronation, when he was recognised as the Avatar and a fully mastered Airbender. Suki pushed a bunch of Water Tribe and Air Nomad flowers into her hands and she and Sokka started to walk in front of her. Katara saw her father, Hakoda come up next to her, looking very handsome in a Water Tribe Chief suit. They linked arms and started to walk down the aisle. Not long after, Katara was holding hands with Aang and was listening to a Water Tribe monk talking about love and commitment. "if there is anyone who think that these two should not be together, speak now" the monk said to everyone in the ceremony. It was silent, obviously everyone wanted them together. A smirk crossed Katara's face and she looked at Aang, who was also smiling wide. **_

_**Suddenly a huge black cloud covered the sky and a thick fog surrounded the soon-to-be-married couple. Katara heard a shuffling of equipment and then the fog cleared. Everyone had disappeared. Aang was gone, and so were the guests. It was only Katara, alone, abandoned and very vulnerable… all Katara could do was let out a huge scream for help – **_

"**AHHHH!" screamed Katara as she jumped off Aang's shoulder and nearly fell off Appa's head. She would've fallen if Aang didn't have his arm around her waist. She turned to look at him and he was looking at her with a smug look on his face. **

"**nightmare?" he asked with a teasing edge to his voice.**

"**yeah, don't look at me like that, I'm not used to having nightmares".**

"**now you know what it's like for me. Do you want to talk about it" he asked, his smug looked removed from his face. Katara had to think about it for a little moment. "well there's no time to talk about it, we're here!" Aang exclaimed.**

"**where?" Katara asked confused.**

"**the Southern Water Tribe silly" he kissed Katara's forehead and he steered Appa down towards the tiny town right below them. **

**when they landed, they were greeted happily by the village people. They were happy until they saw the Fire Nation Royals, in particular Zuko. **

"**why are they unhappy to see us?" Ursa whispered to Zuko, who was looking really embarrassed. **

"**er… when I was looking for Aang, I kind of invaded this village" Zuko replied.**

"**well then, apologize Zuko! Otherwise we'll never be allowed to get into the village. Zuko walked up to Kanna, Katara's grandmother. He bowed low to her and apologised.**

"**I am very sorry for what I did to your village three years ago. I was lost in my ways and I regret everything that I had done" he looked up to Kanna and waited for her response. Her frown turned into a smile and she bowed back to him. **

"**it is a pleasure and great honour to be in the presence of the new Fire Lord, his Fire Lady and…" she cut off, and signalled to Ursa. Ursa came forward and bowed to Kanna. **

"**I'm Princess Ursa, mother of Fire Lord Zuko" Kanna bowed back to her and signalled for them to come into the village. **__


	17. The Village

Chapter 17: The Village

**The village was bigger than it was when Katara, Sokka and Aang had left nearly three years ago. Some Northern Waterbenders had travelled south so that they could help their sister tribe. The village now, instead of living in tents, now had large igloo houses, very much like the ones in the Northern Water Tribe. Katara, Aang and Zuko were staring at the "new" Southern Water Tribe in awe for they were the only ones who had seen the village before it was refurnished. They kept on walking through the village until they reached a massive igloo hall, very much like the Great Hall in the Northern Water Tribe. It was slightly smaller with a huge arched doorway and the two Water Tribe symbols. They stopped at the door and two Waterbenders, who later Aang recognised as Master Pakku and one of his students, Waterbended the doors open. When the doors opened, Kanna led them into the massive hall with four long tables in the shape of a square and signalled for them to walk up to the head of the table and take a seat. There were three people sitting down at the head of the table on a little stage. As they walked, the three people turned into Sokka, Suki and Hakoda. **

**When Katara recognised them, she bolted out of Aang's arms and ran at them. She gripped Sokka into a huge grip and it took him most of his strength to unlatch her fingers. **

"**Katara? KATARA! I can't breathe" Sokka said when she finally unlatched her fingers and stepped away from him. **

"**Sorry Sokka, I just missed you so much! What have you been doing all this time, well since you left us in the Earth Kingdom?" she asked, before he could answer her eyes drifted to Suki and she hugged her tightly, although not as tight as she hugged Sokka. **

"**Hey Katara, didn't expect to see you here" Suki said as she patted Katara on the back. Aang and the group caught up with Katara and stood back to give them some space. **

"**We found some missing Water Tribe villages, with Waterbenders! They are currently building trails and expanding their villages to meet up with us," Sokka said proudly. Katara noticed her dad standing next to Suki and she felt a little bad that she didn't notice him sooner. She hugged Hakoda tightly and felt tears pouring over her eyes. **

"**I missed you dad" was all she could say without her voice cracking and letting them know that she was crying. **

"**I missed you too Katara, my beautiful daughter" Hakoda kissed his daughter's forehead before giving her another tight hug. They separated and Katara noticed a blue stone hanging from Suki's neck. **

"**Oh my Spirits is that a betrothal necklace!" Katara squealed and hugged both Sokka and Suki. **

"**That is not our mother's necklace!" Sokka yelled pointing to Katara's necklace. Katara and Aang just looked at each other awkwardly, this was not the plan on how to tell Sokka about their engagement. **

"**Okay, okay enough talking about who's engaged and who's not and let's eat" Kanna interrupted and she led the group to their seats. Some servants had started to place plates and bowls of food in front of them on the table. Luckily for Aang, they had many vegetarian meals prepared, not only for Aang, but also for the whole tribe to Sokka's disappointment. **

**After a while of eating, Hakoda stood up and tapped his glass for everybody's attention. They all became quiet and looked up to him, their full attention directed at him. **

"**I have a few messages for you. First off, I welcome back my son Sokka and the Kyoshi Warrior Suki to our village and I congratulate them on their very recent engagement" the whole crowd clapped and some wolf-whistled. Suki blushed uncontrollably as Sokka stood up and started bowing to the people. "I would also like to welcome back my daughter Katara and the Avatar and I believe that they have a very special announcement to make" Hakoda sat back down and winked at Aang as he and Katara stood up to address the crowd. **

"**Thank you Chief Hakoda, I would like to announce that on Katara's sixteenth birthday, I proposed to her to be my wife –"**

"**And I said yes, so we're engaged!" Katara cut Aang off, wanting to get this over and done with. The crowd clapped really loud once again and wolf-whistled. Hakoda stood back up and Aang and Katara sat back down. **

"**Congratulations, you two make a very cute couple" he paused "I welcome some guests to the village, we have Fire Lord Zuko and his soon-to-be Fire Lady Mai and Princess Ursa of the Fire Nation" the crowd clapped quieter than they did with the Katara and Aang but still had some energy in it. "I would also like to welcome Earthbending master Toph and Teo of the Earth Kingdom. I would like to celebrate with you the United Nations after the hundred-year war". Everyone clapped and whistled for a long time before it finally died down. **

**The gang was back together once again. United once again. But Aang's journey wasn't over yet. He may have found his friends, but he hasn't found the Airbenders yet. They still need to search the Southern Air Temple, Aang's old home…**


	18. Kyoshi Island

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender… I wish I was a Waterbender.

A/N: Sorry for not writing the disclaimer for the last chapter… anybody who has a question about this story or the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, please write the comment in a review and I will try to answer them in my next chapter thanks :D

Chapter 18: Kyoshi Island

**Aang, Katara, Toph, Teo, Zuko, Mai and Ursa stayed at the Southern Water Tribe, or city as it was becoming for two whole weeks. They celebrated Aang's fourteenth birthday there, which Aang had tried to keep a secret but got tickled out of him by Katara. Turned out he and Sokka shared the same birthday, with Sokka turning seventeen. But they had to leave sometime, and it was harder to pull Katara away from her village than Aang originally thought. When it was time to leave, Aang found Katara crying in her old room packing. **

"**Katara, you don't have to leave if you don't want too," Aang told her sympathetically.**

"**That's very kind of you Aang… hang on, did you just say that you don't want me to go with you to the Southern Air Temple?" she said, annoyed.**

"**Er…"Aang didn't want to upset Katara "no I meant if you don't want to leave, you don't have too. It's okay, I'll find it hard to leave my old home as well". **

"**No, no, no Aang" she pulled Aang onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him "I do want to go with you, don't ever say anything like that. Of course I want to help you. I'm just a bit upset because of all the memories here, I haven't been here for two years, I missed it" she paused "remember when I was crying before we left?" she blushed, remembering the embarrassing memory "I was crying because everyone was leaving us, but now the gang is back together and we'll be working together again. Oh and Sokka and Suki are coming with us" this caught Aang by surprise.**

"**What? How are they going to fit –" Katara shushed him with a finger on his lips.**

"**They have an Air Balloon, calm down. They will float next to us whilst Teo is gliding next to us". She kissed him, stood up and started to push him out the door. Aang just let her push him out for there was no need for an argument. Plus, he was happy that Sokka and Suki were coming, he needed some brother-time with Sokka. **

**So a few days later, Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, Mai and Ursa were flying on Appa whilst Teo glided next to them in his wheelchair glider and Sokka and Suki floated next to the "giant snot-monster" in one of the Fire Nations' Air Balloons, with instead of a Fire Nation insignia on it, it had a Water Tribe insignia. They wouldn't have to fly long so they didn't need to stop for the night. But Suki insisted that they drop by at Kyoshi Island. It took them two hours to reach the island and they were welcomed greatly by the inhabitants of the island, including Suki's Kyoshi Warriors. When they landed, Aang noticed a man jumping up and down, screaming and frothing from the mouth. He giggled when he remembered the many times in the past when they visited and he saw that guy doing the same thing every time. **

**They were first greeted by Suki's Kyoshi Warriors, led by Ty Lee for the time being. They still had their face paint and warrior's uniform and it made Suki tear up. She had given up her Warriors to live with Sokka in Ba Sing Se and now the Southern Water Tribe. She had given up everything she had to live with the young man she loved. The Warriors surrounded their former leader and Sokka and Ty Lee hugged them tightly. Katara giggled when she remembered Sokka dressed up as a girl so that he could learn some fighting techniques from Suki. She whispered something to Sokka and then ran off with the other Warriors into their training room. Aang was greeted by his little fan club of girls who had grown up in the last two years. Their meeting got disrupted though by the Kyoshi Warrior Chief Oyaji.**

"**You must come, Avatar Aang and companions," he said, signalling to them to follow him.**

"**May I ask where?" Aang asked him, confused.**

"**To the big feast of course!" he replied enthusiastically until he noticed Zuko, Mai and Ursa who all three were wearing Fire Nation clothes, but mainly because he recognised Zuko and his scar. "What are you doing here, enemy of Kyoshi Island?" he asked, pointing to Zuko's chest (Zuko had grown way taller than him). **

"**Zuko, did you attack this village too?" Ursa asked her son. All Zuko had to do was look at her and she knew the answer. She looked down, shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead. "Zuko, you have to apologise to these people".**

"**I know mother" he directed his attention to Oyaji. "I am Fire Lord Zuko, two years ago when I…" he coughed "attacked your village, er… I'm very sorry for that, I had lost my way and I truly regret everything I did to your village. I have changed now" he looked straight into the eyes of Oyaji and prayed to the Spirits in his mind that he would forgive him. They waited a while until Oyaji finally spoke. **

"**Okay, I don't trust you fully yet, but I do forgive you. You did help the Avatar and all." He held his arm out but Zuko bowed to him, showing his respect and once Oyaji bowed back, they then shook hands. **

"**Well, we're wasting time here. Let's go and enjoy the feast!" he walked into a large room that Aang remembered to be the room they first ate in Kyoshi Island in. on the table they had many plates full of the many delicious dessert dishes that were specifically available in Kyoshi. **

"**Dig in" Oyaji invited them to sit at the table and Sokka literally flew and started picking out different desserts and stuffing them into his mouth. Katara slapped her head in embarrassment as Oyaji walked towards the door. "I'll leave you guys alone, I believe our warriors have a special treat for you guys" and with that, he left the room, thus leaving the gang to their feast. **


	19. Kyoshi's Surprise

A/N I am sooo sorry that this chapter's late, I was writing what the surprise was and then I completely forgot what the surprise actually was, so I had to start all over… anyway enjoy the story but first, the disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own A: TLA, if I was in the Avatar World, I would be a Waterbending Kyoshi Warrior!

Chapter 19: Kyoshi's Surprise

**Whilst they ate, Sokka and Katara were engaged in a very serious conversation about what the surprise might be. Zuko and Mai were huddled closely together feeding each other different desserts whilst Ursa looked at them with loving awe, for she missed those moments with Ozai when he was loving and kind to her and Zuko. Toph and Teo were sitting next to each other arguing which Earth Kingdom city was better and Aang just sat there with Momo on his lap deep within his thoughts. They were getting closer and closer to finding the Airbenders every day. This made Aang laugh to himself quietly, for if they found them, the Avatar cycle wouldn't break and there would still be Airbenders to teach the future Avatars. **

**The group then heard some footsteps and some muffled female voices. The door opened and Ty Lee peered through the gap of the door and flinched back when she saw the whole group staring at her. She peered back at them blushing, even though it was very hard to notice her blush, for she was wearing her Kyoshi Warrior makeup. She turned around and said something to the girls which sounded like "C'mon girls, let's get this show on the road" which was probably something she used to say when she was in the circus. The door then opened wide enough and the girls walked through gracefully. The door then closed, every Kyoshi member was there except Suki. **

"**where's Suki" asked Sokka, feeling very lonely without her. **

"**oh my, sorry…" she opened the door "I present to you, Suki!" as she said that Suki walked through, wearing her Kyoshi Warrior makeup and uniform. Sokka's mouth dropped to the ground and started drooling at his beautiful girlfriend. Suki blushed and took a deep breath. **

"**I really missed this uniform. I forgot how heavy it is" one of the Warriors tapped her on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear. "oh right, yeah" she blushed and all the warriors took their places. They then took out their fans and swords and performed a synchronized dance-type movement demonstrating the different techniques that the warriors had learnt. Sokka stared up at Suki in awe, as she moved with perfect grace and balance. When they had finished, the group clapped and whistled so loudly, that the Elephant Koi and possibly the Unagi could hear them. The Kyoshi Warriors blushed and looked away when Sokka jumped up and grabbed Suki into a very tight hug and kiss. Once they had stopped kissing, the Warriors left the group so that they could finish their feast. **

**The group decided that they would stay on Kyoshi Island for a few days before finally leaving for the Southern Air Temple. **


End file.
